Language need not be a barrier to sitting down and eating together and so it was just prior to Christmas last year at the Auckland Chinese Presbyterian Church Hall in Vincent St, when Chinese from local apartments were invited to come “splice” over a traditional Kiwi Christmas dinner.

The evening festivities had it all - Santa in traditional red suit with presents, a surprise visit by the Auckland Street Choir, turkeys, gravy and a liberal distribution of pavlova.

With the invaluable help of some bi-lingual splicers, traversing the language divide was a lot of fun, as connections and understanding revealed themselves across the evening.

The city centre neighbourhood is incredibly culturally diverse. By the official numbers Chinese make up a significant proportion of the residential community. There is now a local Chinese WeChat group – WeChat being a well-used social media platform by Chinese. Go to “AKL City Centre Neighborhood” if you can read Chinese and want to meet new neighbours and stay informed.

Regardless of your cultural heritage, if you are someone who believes that being welcoming and building connections between people is both interesting and important then feel free to get in touch or keep an eye on the Splice Facebook page.

In the forthcoming Year of the Rooster - 2017, Splice will be looking to facilitate further opportunities and you’re welcome to join in the fun.